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The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

From the outside, Sycamore Glen, North Carolina, might look like the perfect all-American neighborhood. But behind the white picket fences lies a web of secrets that reach from house to house.

Up and down the streets, neighbors quietly bear the weight of their own pasts—until an accident at the community pool upsets the delicate equilibrium. And when tragic circumstances compel a woman to return to Sycamore Glen after years of self-imposed banishment, the tangle of the neighbors’ intertwined lives begins to unravel.

During the course of a sweltering summer, long-buried secrets are revealed, and the neighbors learn that it’s impossible to really know those closest to us. But is it impossible to love and forgive them?

These are the books I LOVE. Secrets, relationships, a bit of mystery & the story is told from several different characters points of view. It’s no wonder that The Things We Wish Were True is on so many “Must Read” lists for fall. Marybeth does an amazing job painting the picture of the neighborhood for the reader. I was intrigued throughout the novel thing to figure out why Jencey left town so many years ago, to understand the complicated relationship between Bryte & Everett & for my heart to swell for Nell & Cailey. This story grabs the reader because it’s so relatable. We’ve all got secrets, we all suspect a little something about those we should know best & we’ve all got a little something to hide as well. I liken this book to my favorite author’s brand of storytelling, Liane Moriarty, in that the reader is kept wondering on so many aspects of the story until the end wraps up & you realize what a wonderful book you’ve just read. Highly recommended for mystery, fiction & women’s fiction fans & anyone looking for a fantastic book. Marybeth is also the co-founder of She Reads, a blog network to help readers find their next great book.